Posted
by
timothy
on Saturday January 30, 2010 @04:18PM
from the how's-it-handle-baroque-javascript dept.

Majix writes "Firefox Mobile, the mobile browser developed by Mozilla based on the same engine as in the recently released Firefox 3.6, has finally hit version 1.0. The first device to be officially supported is the Nokia N900. With a long list of features, Firefox Mobile looks to be the most complete mobile browser to date. Highlights include the familiar Awesome Bar, Weave Sync for sharing your browser state between your PC and mobile, and of course tabbed browsing and Firefox add-ons. With the Nokia 900 and Firefox Mobile 1.0, even Flash content including the normal YouTube site is working, showing that a mobile browser does not have to equal a compromised Internet experience."

Not just one device, it is Firefox Maemo 1.0. Which means it can run any Nokia running Meamo 5.0. There are other versions which are in various stages of development. For eg, its in Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile 6.0.
Check https://wiki.mozilla.org/Mobile/Platforms [mozilla.org] for more info

The UI felt a bit unusual at the start, but I actually ended up liking it, felt unique and effective. The application start time is a few seconds slower than the Micro browser that ships with the N900, but page load and rendering speed seems toughly equal. The straightforwardness of installing and configuring AdBlocker felt more integrated and polished in the new Firefox 1.0. However, the Firefox has a major deal-breaker for me, it's broken ZOOM function. You're only limited to a "maximum zoom in" or "maximum zoom out" by doubletapping the screen, you can't pick your desired level of zoom by doing a clockwise/counterclockwise drag movement like in Micro. Ctrl-UP and Ctrl-DOWN were supposed keyboard shortcuts for zooming in and out, but these didn't even work at all, the key combinations did nothing (while other shortcuts like Ctrl-L worked normally).
This definately feels like a good start, but it's more of a 0.98 version than a 1.0, it just has a few rough edges and needs some polish.

I never even considered actually "buying" a cellphone. I basically only carried one for emergencies and was satisfied with whatever came with the service. That was until I heard about the N900. I've had mine for over a month now and I got to say, the thing just rocks and was worth every penny.

Not only does it all the features you would expect from a smartphone such as web browsing, playing media, shooting pictures and video etc., but it also can receive and transmit FM radio and has TV out.

As far as software goes, besides what's available in the standard, extras, and testing repos, after installing an "EasyDebian" chroot you can run just about anything on it. I haven't carried my laptop since I bought the thing.

I don't know where you got that idea, but Android has no Flash support to date. There were promises of support for all Android phones by the end of 2009. Current word is that it'll be out by the end of the first half of 2010, for Android 2 phones only.

The price only seems high because you can't get it subsidized by a carrier (at least as far as I know in the US). If you look at the regular retail prices of most Android phones and the iPhone, you'll find that they're in the same range as the N900. If you get service from T-Mobile, you can even save $10 per month if you don't get a subsidized phone, so if you put that $240 (or more, if you plan on keeping the phone more than two years), towards the price of the phone, it's the equivalent of a $300 subsidized phone.